Dark Swan
by No.1ShadowhunterFan
Summary: **Spoilers for Once Upon A Time season 4** Emma is the Dark One. She is a wild beast that needs the nourishment of love to tame. Killian is the freakishly handsome man who is a part of a past she cannot remember. Only true love's kiss can break the curse. But can Killian make her fall in love with him once again before the curse takes full control of her?
1. Prologue

**Just gonna say this once because I don't want to be repetitive and I know that people don't like reading the side comments from the weird author ;)**

 ****Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I only own the plot, and maybe some eventual places that I might make up that the characters go to. Maybe.****

The dungeon was damp and cold. A light brisk wind blew in when the door creaked open. The only fresh air in days. Moss trailed along the wall, darkening the color of the bricks.

The prisoner was sitting alone in her cell. Her hair that had once been entirely pale blonde was now streaked with black. They hung from her temples, dirty from lack of a wash in at least two months. She had already lost track of the days she'd been here. At first, she had counted them by carving on the stone wall. But if you look at those marks now, you'll know that she had lost hope long ago.

At the sound of the ruffling of cloth, she raised her head. Her pale beautiful face looked innocent for a second. The next it was twisted into a snarl. A growl like that of a wild beast escaped her cracked lips.

Her lunch―it was set on a tiny cracked plate; a round piece of stale bread and some moldy tomato soup―was delivered through the thick iron bars. The servant looked at the prisoner with disgust.

At the look that the maid had given her, the woman jumped forward, reaching for the servant's neck. Alas, thick chains also made of iron held her arms. At her resistance, the manacles―at her wrist, by her ankles and around her throat―glowed red and a searing pain burned through her whole body. She flinched back, clawing at her throat to rid her of the band there that held her like a punished dog. A filthy dog that the world feared and hated.

She gripped her hands into fists, trying to channel the magic that flowed in her veins. It didn't work. It hadn't since the moment she had been chained into this cell. Iron blocked all magic. No matter how strong.

She couldn't believe it in the beginning. The ones that had imprisoned her in this awful place were her own parents. Betrayed by those that had once been dear to her. She only held hate for them now.

They had turned on her the moment her name had appeared on the dreaded dagger. Her powers that had once been light magic, the product of true love were now stained, just like her blood, and filled with black energy.

She was no longer human. She was a monster. An untamed and savage creature.

She was the Dark Swan.


	2. Chapter 1: Emma and A Hero

Emma was woken by a voice from above. Moonlight spilled into her cell from a fist-sized hole in the ceiling. They hadn't cared enough to fill it up. No one could take her away through just a tiny hole. Besides, nothing could break the chains binding her to the cave wall.

"Are you in there, Swan?" The voice called out. It was a man's voice with a thick Irish accent. The man was trying to open up the hole with his hands―wait, one hand and…a hook? Who was this man? His voice tickled her mind and she tried her best to remember if she had ever seen this man before. Her mind was blank.

"Who are you?" Her voice cracked. She hadn't spoken in so long. Only ever snarled or hissed since she was put here.

The man's face came into view. He had thick eyebrows and a mustache just as dark. A light layer of stubble covered his jaw. Emma's first impression was that he was handsome. Freakishly handsome.

Her cheeks burned for no apparent reason at all. This was the first she'd had of this sensation. "Oi. You're blushing." He called down quietly, but his voice resonated through the almost empty dungeon. "Swan. I just wanted to tell you that I am going to save you. You might not even recognize me, but I know that Emma Swan is in there somewhere. She is still alive. And I will save her. And that means you as well, love. My name is Killian by the way. Remember that." He winked. The strange urge to smile rose up. But she continued to grimace.

Suddenly, she felt a darkness swirl up in her chest. It took hold of her, and didn't let go. Emma's eyes suddenly changed colors from green to black. Black as obsidian.

The man with the hook suddenly inhaled a small breath―more of surprise than of fear―just as Swan lunged toward him. Obviously, she couldn't reach him when he was so high up, but she expected him to at least flinch or look horrified. He did none of these. Only looked at her with his eyes filled with sorrow. He whispered some words that were only just audible, "I will save you from this," and then left with a swish of his long cloak.


	3. Chapter 2: Snow and Spreading Darkness

Staring up at the hole in the sky, Emma drummed her fingers on the prison floor. She thought of the man from the night before whose words had struck her as odd. He did not look like the magical type, and the instinct that came from the lost memories that she could not find inside her mind confirmed this. The man had looked determined with a hint of sorrow which had seemed to be directed toward her. Who was he?

A woman whose appearance made her look the same age as Emma clipped in her heels down the stone staircase. Snow White was her name and also the fairest of the land. Her tale was told by the people as a legendary one, one of a young princess who was beautiful on the outside and inside as well.

Now queen, she was not who she once was. Back in that other land, the One Without Magic, she had killed a certain miller's daughter, the mother of Snow's own stepmother. That darkness formed in her heart was only a drop at the time, but like ink in water, it expanded to fill her entire soul. With no magic, and no love, she had only the power to lock up her daughter and stain the name of the once Savior.

"Emma, dear." Snow's voice was sweet but hidden within was a mocking tone that her daughter recognized immediately. There was a drawl to her words that suggested the sneer on her beautiful face. Emma did not respond, but continued the rhythm of her long uncut nails against the cobblestone floor. "Would you like the chance of being set free?" The words were an evident trap, and Emma did not know why the trap had been set so simply. She was not the type to be captured by these attempts at pulling out her inner darkness. She would not show vulnerability or any sign that she cared. She did not even move her head that was positioned to stare at her twitching fingers.

"When I order you to speak, you speak." The voice had turned cold, a sudden whip of icy winter wind. This specialized cell had been enchanted by ancient magic to make the prisoner follow every direct order of the royals who had imprisoned her. The manacles singed her skin as Emma croaked out "No" which came with a sharpened point though her neck and wrists were burning.

"Are you sure with your answer? I can offer you freedom and the return of all your _tainted_ ," the word was spat out, "magic." A pause to wait for a response, any response at all.

Emma finally lifted her head, "What are your conditions? With you, there is always a condition."

"You know, there was a past where I was not like this, and you were not as you are now either. Even back when we hadn't known we were mother and daughter, I had been your friend in Storybrooke."

"I don't know of the past you speak of, but that is no longer what we are like and the past does not matter."

"Oh, on the contrary, the past is everything, just that you don't remember."


	4. Chapter 3: Deals and Dark Ones

Chapter Three: Deals and Dark Ones

Snow's hooded eyes taunted Emma from afar. She knew her daughter had not really changed, there was just that extra bitterness in the personality and the darkness only took over for periods of time. The Dark One's shadow energy would eventually control Emma's whole being but for now, there was only the Emma whose heart had shielded itself away from love after all those betrayals. "My offer is that in trade for the return of your freedom and your powers, you help me locate something."

Through all the time in Storybrooke when Emma's heart had started developing that hatred for her parents, Snow's own heart had darkened as well. Thinking of all the past things she had done―sacrificing Maleficent's daughter for the sake of Emma, murdering Cora―Snow would only smile now. There was no regret whatsoever.

"Why would I make a deal with _you_?"

"The Dark Ones are always tempted by trades and deals, aren't you all?"

"I cannot speak for the others, but I am not. I would not help you for anything, even my freedom. You cannot make me; torture would not work on me. So unless you have the dagger, don't even _think_ that I would aid you in whatever it is that you are searching for."

* * *

"She is not helping," Snow mumbled to her husband as the two sat quietly at the conference table usually set for the representatives. "Where is Rumpelstiltskin? Does he know where the dagger is?" The dagger had vanished when Emma became the Dark One. Whoever wielded it now or if they found it in the future, had full access to Emma's dormant powers.

"His magic was cut away after he stopped being the Dark One. He is only a normal man now, and he's still unconscious after the transformation back." Charming looked bored. The couple had not been the same after returning to the Enchanted Forest. He still loved Snow, he knew that. But she was different, and his daughter was too.

A high arched dome rose up above them, sustained by carved columns on the four corners. Dangling from the center of the dome ceiling hung a chandelier from which candles lit the room. They didn't provide much light and it was too dark to read the book Snow held in front of her. She had to peer in close to see the rune pictures.

Belle had lent her the book so she could gain information on the generations of Dark Ones. The book recorded all the ones up until the early years of Rumpelstiltskin, before the Dark Curse had been enacted.

Before him, there had been Zoso who had tricked Rumpelstiltskin into killing him. It was a hard life, being the Dark One. You could easily be controlled if another took ahold of the dagger. And Zoso's dagger had been owned by the king at the time. The idea of death must have appealed more to him than the reality of having such an immense amount of power that could only be unleashed with his master's order.

Relea. That was the name of the one before Zoso. Her story was told vaguely and in short simple terms in the scrawled ink script of the book. Unlike the other entries which filled several pages at once. This one only took one paragraph with a single sketch accompanying it. A swan in flight.

 _When Relea had been only ten of years, her sorceress stepmother transformed her six brothers into swans._

Snow smirked. Swans. How ironic.

 _To break the curse, Relea remained silent for six years of her life whilst weaving sweaters using magical nettle from a nearby graveyard. The enchantment was broken. However when the brothers returned home to their sister, she no longer existed. There was only a darkness filled shell who had taken over the body of the teenage girl._

There was no further explanation.

Snow looked up. Charming who sat next to her had fallen asleep on the table. The girl Relea sounded so mysterious. How long ago had she been alive? There were no specific years for her as the book had listed for the others. Was she still alive now? Did Dark Ones remain immortal after the darkness had exited their body?

She yawned. This could wait. It was not as if the matter was more pressing than forcing Emma to aid her in their search. Snow pulled Charming up and they went to bed, not knowing that soon they would wake up to the frantic yelling of palace guards at their chamber door.


	5. Chapter 4: Freedom and Magic

Chapter 4: Freedom and Magic

"Your majesties! The prison security has been breached!" Snow awoke to pounding at the door and the chaotic clang of metal on metal. The guards were unsheathing their swords against what she expected to be Emma, for they did not hold any other prisoners in this dungeon.

She bolted up, pulled her dress over her head and opened the door, closing it behind her because Charming was still getting dressed. "Where is she?"

The answer was automatic without any hesitation of to whom Snow was referring. "Escaped, my queen, and she had an accomplice. A man with a hook for a hand." _Hook._ Of course. How could she have not thought about him before this moment? He was evidently the first to come to mind in setting Emma free.

Their group from Storybrooke―of thieves and princesses, of an evil queen and a savior―had disbanded after their savior had turned into the Dark One. Without a savior, the land was destined for doom and the group suddenly realized: Emma was the one that linked them. She was the one who had brought them together for the first time in Neverland. And she had, since, been that center piece of the puzzle that made the others fit into this larger body that was bigger than any oneself.

This was no time for her most prized―and only―prisoner to escape. She needed the stone now.

"They could not have gone far. Prepare my horse. I'll go in pursuit."

"I shall as well." Charming joined Snow's side.

The guard bowed. "Do you need troops, my lord?"

"No. That would only slow down the chase. She has no magic. We would be enough. That is assuming the darkness would not take over." Charming's face was determined. One of a hero. Snow remembered when she had fallen in love with this man. It was different now. She did not feel anything, towards him or anyone.

* * *

Her horse was the wind and she was a leaf flowing down the winding river of a breeze. Killian, the man with a hooked hand, was in front. He had wound the reins around his hook to stabilize the horse and control its movements but it also put his hook to good use without harming the horse with its tip. Emma circled her arms around his waist, her movements awkward from having never―at least from what she could remember, which was practically nothing at all―been this intimately near someone before.

"Where are you bringing me? It isn't a prison, is it? Surely you wouldn't have wasted this much energy only to transfer me to another cell?"

"Of course not, love. We are going to the fortress." Emma did not know where that was and when she was about to word her question, the double neigh of horses in pursuit sounded behind them, followed by the clop of hooves on soil. A crack of the reins sped their mare forward, its dark mane billowing upward. Killian sputtered and straightened from his almost crouch-like position.

"The hunt is on and we will not be captured." What seemed to be a smirk pulled the man's lips, like he rather enjoyed being chased and the imminent danger they were in.

From amongst the trees emerged the towers of a castle and a bridge that connected the structure from its location in the middle of a lake to the forest surrounding the perimeter. "It was Maleficent's castle, but when we returned, Regina decided to take it as her own. She put up wards around the entire lake against whatever powers Snow is hiding."

"I do not think my mother is hiding any magic."

"Oh no, not her own. At least not yet. She has another weapon."


	6. Chapter 5: Strangers Friends and Shadows

**Sorry. I was busy because of school so I didn't update last Friday. It's break now so I have some time to write.**

 **I don't know what I feel about this chapter, but here it is. Hope you enjoy it.**

Chapter 5: Strangers, Friends, and Shadows

As Emma entered the protective layer around the lake, a gush of wind welcomed her like she was entering another realm. Veins snaked on the colored glass of the single tower in the middle of the lake outlined the petals of a stain glass flower.

Emma yearned to use her magic to cast away their pursuers but along with the magic came the darkness and her simple stunt was not worth the risk.

Racing along the bridge, the horse's hooves pounding on the cobblestone, Emma peered past the layers of stone underneath into the overlapping waves of the water below. If they were to slip, simply the impact of the fall could break their bodies. Unwinding chains signaled the drop of the drawbridge that opened into a courtyard. Though the entire lake was protected in a ward, the drawbridge was still immediately closed up as another layer of defense.

Killian jumped off the horse and helped Emma off as well, just as a woman greeted them from the entrance of the fortress. She stood with an aura that pulsed with regality. Her long velvet wine dress trailed slightly behind her and she walked forward. As a sort of response to Emma's stare, the woman said, "I know it isn't what I typically wear, but if we're back in the Enchanted Forest, I get to wear dresses again."

Emma was at a loss for a response at the openness of the words like the woman was greeting an old friend. "Um. I am sorry. I know we must have known each other before, but after I became the Dark One, my memory has vanished. You are…"

The woman's gaze softened and her bare shoulders drooped slightly as though she was disappointed. Emma's mood soured as well. She did not know the Emma that everyone seemed to see in her and she did not know if she would ever be that person again, even if she regained her memories―which was doubtable.

"My name is Regina. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand, the motion gawky like the formality had never been present between the two. Emma took it and gripped her hand hard. She wished that the two of them would still develop a friendship, though it would be one different than whatever was between the original Emma and Regina. She was different now.

"Hello, love." Emma's attention snapped to Killian. "Hi. I'm still here. Not to break the moment but just to get all the introductions done with, you may remember that my name is Killian. You can call me Hook as well." Emma bowed. It was a formality in front of what she still felt to be strangers.

Their chase was fruitless. Hook had brought Emma into a fortress and the ward outside repelled Snow and Charming's horses. In a fit of rage, Snow smashed her hands against the invisible layer that prevented them from following any further. The force resonated through her entire arm as though she had hit an actual brick wall instead of a concealed magical bubble. With a frustrated grunt, Snow charged away on her mare, leaving Charming alone in front of the lake. He followed but slowed to a trot when she yelled back, "Don't follow me!"

"Snow…" he whispered.

"I don't want you to be here right now. Go back. I'll return later." Snow looked back. "I promise. Just go." Her pleading eyes sought out Charming's and he knew. Past the layers of ferocity that her darkened heart had added, the Snow he loved was still in there, just like their strong daughter, Emma. He didn't want to argue so he pulled the reins to the side and followed their path back.

Like she was speaking to an invisible figure, Snow muttered, "I can't do this anymore. Everything is broken. Nothing is going according to your plan." Her mare clopped aimlessly through the forest and soon Snow could smell the salty breeze off the ocean that churned near both fortresses. Shells crunched beneath the horse's hooves. "Please, my lord, provide me with aid." A shadow flickered amongst the pebbles of the shore and disappeared.

Snow's drained energy replenished itself. Her lips curled into a smirk, knowing that the Master had received the message.


	7. Chapter 6: A Fragile Soul

**When Hook is referred to as "Hook", it is being told through his mind. When he's referred to as "Killian", we are in Emma's point of view.**

Chapter 6: A Fragile Soul

The Fortress contained spacious corridors and, as Emma soon learned, housed more than just Regina and Killian. There were other residents that took refuge there who had once lived in Storybrooke. After she turned, the entirety of the town was transported back to the Enchanted Forest. They divided amongst themselves into the two sides that were now separated by a widening abyss.

There was Robin Hood, the famed hero and thief of Sherwood Forest who stole from the wealthy and gifted the riches to the poor. He was a darling to Regina.

A woman dressed in all black with auburn ringlets grudgingly introduced herself as Zelena, or the Wicked Witch of the West as the people of Oz called her. She seemed proud of the title given to her by those who feared her.

The hair at the nape of Emma's neck bristled when she thought of the inevitable day when the darkness took entire control, and everyone would look at her through eyes blinded by fear and would refer to her as the Dark One. Would she ever get used to the title or revel in knowing that all of the land hated and feared her?

* * *

"What's up?" A dull knock sounded at the door of her room which Emma had left open. It was the sound of Killian's hook against the wood.

Emma stared out at the courtyard through her lidded eyes. Sunlight sparked off her lashes. "Nothing much. Shouldn't we be planning to retaliate against Snow?"

"Emma, that is our mother you are speaking of. Do you not recognize that?"

"I know. I know she is my mother but I don't think of her as that anymore. What kind of parent would lock up their own child, their own flesh and blood? Even if she didn't hurt me, didn't torture me, I was left down there in the dungeon. Fed tiny morsels of moldy bread once per day. Locked in iron chains. Just because queen Snow White feared my magic!" Emma's rage boiled in her heart, in her mind. It surged up like a tsunami and engulfed her. "And I don't even have that anymore. What does she have to fear?" Out of words and also out of breath, Emma inhaled and exhaled deeply, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She didn't see it but Killian noticed her trembling figure. Emma crumbled down into the chair she had risen from sometime during her outburst. It creaked under her weight.

Hook moved forward and put his right palm on Emma's hands which were fisted together in her lap. He gripped her hands and the tremor stilled. His left arm hung awkwardly at his side. "Um. I should probably take the hook off." He stood up, unscrewed the hook from its leather base and placed it on the nearby bedside table.

"But now you're not Hook anymore." A slow smile was spreading on Emma's face and Hook couldn't help but notice the difference between this Emma and the one before. They were so different. This one was gentle and seemed almost fragile at times. The original Emma was strong and had forged a concrete wall of a facade that he had had to hack away at with his hook.

"Nah. Killian's good." He crouched down so he was looking up at Emma's golden haloed hair and her pale face that held a soft shy smile. For him. "I just wanted to say that you're different. You're not your mother, whether she is good or bad. You made your own path and I will follow you along that road." Hook grinned. He loved both Emmas, because it was all a part of her. She was a mixture of the two figures he saw but she was also so much more. He had waited a long time to reunite and he would wait again to see the return of the Emma he knew. "Until the end."


End file.
